תּוספֿתּא אויף שמות 1:22

The people of the Tower [of Babel] became haughty in front of the Place only due to the goodness He showered upon them, as it says (Gen. 10:1-2, JPS Tr.), "Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words, and as they migrated from the east [they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled (lit., 'sat') there]." And there is no "sitting" that does not involve eating and drinking, as it says (Ex. 32:6), "And the people sat to eat and drink etc." This was the cause of their [downfall]. And they said (Gen. 11:4), "Come let us build a city and a tower, etc." What does it say, but that "The Lord scattered them [over the face of the whole earth]" (Gen. 11:7). The people of Sodom became haughty in front of the Place only due to the goodness He showered upon them, as it says: "A land from which bread had issued forth — its place was overturned, as if (consumed by) fire. A place of sapphire were its stones, and dusts of gold were there. (And now it is) a path unknown (i.e., unfrequented) by brigands, and unseen by the falcon's eye, untrodden by the haughty (beasts) and not crossed by the lion (Job 28:5-8). The people of Sodom [said]: "Since food comes out of our land, and silver and gold, and precious stones and pearls [all come] from our land, we have no need that other people will come to us to diminish [our valuables]. Let us rise and prevent the wayfarers to enter our cities [banot]!" The Holy One of Blessing said to them: "I gave goodness to you, and you seek to forget the wayfarers from your cities?! I will forget the wayfarers in your midst [beinechem] and I will forget you from the world!" What does it say? "He breaks open a shaft away from where men sojourn; they are forgotten of the foot that pass by; they hang afar from men, they swing to and fro." (Job 28:4) and "The tents of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure, in whatsoever God brings into their hand." (Job 12:6) and so it says "As I live—declares the Lord GOD—your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do what you and your daughters did.Only this was the sin of your sister Sodom: arrogance! She and her daughters had plenty of bread"(Ezekiel 16:48-49). Egypt became haughty in front of the Place Blessed be He only due to water, as it says (Ex. 1:22, JPS Tr.), "Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, “Every boy that is born [you shall throw into the Nile, but let every girl live]." In the same way, the Place Blessed e He only destroyed them with water, as it says (Ex. 15:4, JPS Tr.), "Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea." Sisera became haughty in front of the Place only due to legionnaires who did not receive wages (Judges 5:19, JPS Tr.), "Then the kings came, they fought [... and they got no spoil of silver]." And [when Yael entered the tent to kill him, the legionnaires] did not move from their places and they paid him no mind because he himself was merely a common soldier (see Jastrow, סָפַן).

Moses merited the bones [of Joseph]; so too, none other than the Holy One, Blessed be He occupied himself with [Moses's bones], as it is said (Deut. 34:6), "And He buried him the the valley, etc." It teaches that he was carried by the body of the Shekhinah approximately four mils, from the portion of Reuben to the portion of Gad. [From where is it derived] that he died within the field of Reuben? As it is said (Num. 32:37), "And the children of Reuben built [Cheshbon^*חֶשְׁבּוֹן (Cheshbon) can also mean "a reckoning," as in the legal phrase "דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן" (din v'cheshbon), "an account and a reckoning," and thus may be midrashically associated with Moses the lawgiver; see also Bekh. 5a:12 ("Moses our teacher was ... an expert in reckoning (חשבונות). Alternatively, per the expanded text of MS Erfurt, the derivation is from the fact that Moses is recorded as dying on Mount Nebo (Deut. 34:1), which is then associated with Num. 32:38, "And the children of Reuben built ... Nebo, etc.," accord. Lieberman, Minchat Yitzchak.], etc." And from where is it derived that he was buried within the field of the inheritance of Gad? As it is said (Deut. 33:20-21), "And to Gad he said, Blessed is he that enlarges Gad... And he selected the first part for himself, because there the portion of a lawgiver (i.e., Moses) was reserved." And the ministering angels eulogized and said before him (Deut. 33:21), "The justice of Hashem did he perform, and His laws with Israel." And thus it says regarding a suspected adulteress (Num. 5:22), "And may these bitter waters enter [into your intestines, to cause the belly to swell and the thigh to fall, etc.]." The thigh is the place where the transgression was initiated, [and thus] the Divine retribution begins there, and afterwards the belly, as it is said (Num. 5:27), "And when he gives her the waters to drink... [her belly shall swell and her thigh shall fall]."^*Note that Num. 5:21, in which "thigh" precedes "belly," may be the intended reference (see Bam. Rabbah 9:23, Sifrei Zuta 5:21:5). And so too you find with the people of [the generation of] the Flood: Man was the initiator of transgression, as it is said (Gen. 6:5), "And God saw how great was the wickedness of Man on earth, etc.," and thus Man was stricken first, but the remainder did not escape, as it is said (Gen. 7:23), "And everything in existence was blotted out, [from Man, to cattle, to creeping things, and to the flying creatures, etc.]" [Similarly,] the residents of Sodom were the initiators of the transgression, as it is said (Gen. 19:4), "They (i.e., Lot and the two Divine emissaries) had not yet laid down when the men of the city [... encircled the house, etc.]," and thus they were stricken first, but the remainder did not escape, as it is said (Gen. 19:11 (Fox tr.)), "while the men who were at the entrance to the house[, they struck with dazzling-light—[all men] great and small]." The most powerful of Egypt -- they were the initiators of the transgression, as it is said (Ex. 1:22), "And Pharaoh commanded all his people saying, 'Every son [that is born shall be thrown into the River].'" [And as a result,] they were stricken first, but the remainder did not escape, as it is said (Ex. 7:29), "Onto you, and onto your people[, and onto all your servants will the frogs rise up]." The spies -- they were the initiators of the transgression, as it is said (Num. 13:32), "And they delivered an evil report of the Land that they had spied out, etc." [And as a result,] they were stricken first, but the remainder did not escape, as it is said (Num. 14:37), "And those men who delivered an evil report of the Land died," but the remainder did not escape, as it is said (Num. 14:35), "I am God, I have spoken if I will not do thusly [to the whole evil congregation]." The dwellers of the Land of Israel were the initiators of the transgression, as it is said (Jer. 12:14), "Thus says the Lord of Host regarding all the evil dwellers who lay a hand on the inheritance [of My people Israel], etc." Thus, so too they were stricken first, but the remainder did not escape, as it is said (ibid.), "I will uproot them from their lands, etc." The prophets of Jerusalem -- they were the initiators of the transgression, as it is said (Jer. 23:15, JPS tr.), "For from the prophets of Jerusalem, Godlessness has gone forth to the whole land." Thus, so too were they stricken first, but the remainder did not escape, as it is said (Jer. 29:22), "And there will be taken from [the false prophets Ahab and Zedekiah] a curse [extending] to all the exiles of Judah that are in Babylon, etc."